Let's Ride

Butts on Bikes campaign

Since the New Year, our priority has been to get butts on our bikes.  They come in all shapes and sizes, and the one commonality is that every butt looks good on a Bolt. 

 
 

Over the last few months, we introduced 100 new riders to Bolt.  What better way to spend a lunch hour or a lazy Saturday afternoon than to hop on an M-1 and give electric a try.  Many thanks to all who took a break from the hustle and bustle to get out for a ride. 

 

Demo Days

Recently we caught up with the teams at Tesla and Spacex in Hawthorne, CA. 

 
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 It was great riding weather (as always), and we gave dozens of demo rides.  Some people had been riding motorcycles their entire lives, and some had never been on a powered two-wheeler.  A one-minute spiel later, and they were off and riding like a natural. 

 
 

Across the board, the reaction was the same.  Awesome!  A special thanks to all who came out and for spreading the word if you couldn’t make it!  We’ll catch you next time for sure. 

 

What does it feel like to ride a Bolt?

For most people, the M-1 is their first foray into electric.  How does that saying go…once you go electric, you never go back?

At some point or another most of us have ridden a bicycle.  We have all felt how awesome it is going downhill.  No pedaling, the wind in your sideburns, and no noise of an engine.  Now imagine if you could also do that going uphill.  Riding a Bolt is like riding downhill everywhere you go.  We took the M-1 to the steepest hills of San Francisco we could find and put it to the test.  As Borat so eloquently put it, “Great success!”

 
 

 If you have ridden a motorcycle or a scooter, you might have a bit of an idea, but now imagine all the torque you need right off the line.  No clutches to slip, no gears to shift, and whisper-quiet.  You get to the front of the line every time, and you are off the line faster than any car around.  Yeah, it’s that awesome.

 

Who rides Bolt, you ask? 

When I first moved to San Francisco, Craigslist was still honorable.  I found a place to live, a job and a surfboard.  I went on some dates, and I found my first moped.  I was a normal guy, living and working in SF, and I quickly realized that my moped was the best way to get around the city at the time - much more practical than my car or bicycle.  I could go farther, faster, and for less money.  Since electrifying this awesome form factor, we get all of the same benefits, we help the environment, and look WAY cooler.

The M-1 is for techies, moms and dads, and people who realize that getting around in a city doesn’t have to suck.  If you like cool, come try a Bolt.  Here are just a few people who did:

 Join the party!

Happy Holidays

A little update from the team at Bolt Motorbikes:

It has been an exciting few months!  Since our last update, we have been hard at work wearing all sorts of hats.  Here are a few highlights:

Engineering

  • Debut of bluetooth connectivity: Our first generation app is able to wirelessly unlock the M-1, communicate real-time bike speedo measurements to the app and record the data onto a remote server. 
 
 
  • First pre-production bike built and tested:  We call it Raven.  We still continue to refine and prepare for production, but it rides like a dream. Check out the lockable battery quick-release mechanism.
 
 
 
 
  • Manufacturing tooling refinement: For those savvy to the lingo, this means that now we can make our parts with even higher level of consistency.  For instance, we can make 100 batteries, and they will all be within 1 millimeter of each other. Check out how we make our connector covers. The process is called vacuum forming.
 
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Events and Press:

  • San Francisco Local CBS aired this cool story.  It is high praise to be called "the Tesla for electric bikes."  
 
 
  • Bolt competed in the Nothing To Lose bike open bike build competition.  We had a lot of great interaction, and took second place in our class.  We are going for gold next year!

  • Demo days:  High five to the dozens of you that came out for test rides and for our first Ladies-Only Demo Day.  If you haven’t yet, come by the shop, catch us on a demo day, or let us know where you are, and we can get a bike to you.
 
 
  •  We have been making some noise in social media.  Thanks for your support!  We know you dig what we are doing, but there are still a few people we haven’t reached yet.  We are counting on you to continue to share the love TWITTER, FB.

Creature Rally "Get Lost" 2014

Big thanks to the Creatures of the Loin for hosting an awesome moped rally this past weekend. What a blast it was!!! We were really excited to be the only electric vehicle at the rally, spreading the good word in hopes that more EVs will join us next time. (We saw a few Scoots but they did not join the ride, good to see ya out there!)

For those of you who don't know what the heck a "moped rally" is, I'll fill you in. The Moped Army consists of branches (gangs) located in various cities across the country. Each branch typically hosts a rally once or twice a year.  Events include organized rides around a branch's city, moped races, barbecues, parties, and bar invasions. Moped Army branches often have merchandise such as T-shirts and stickers available (swag).

 
 

Friday night began with some awesome BBQ, mingling, talking shop, and general asshattery. We fitted the M-1 with an extra set of batteries, pannier-style, just in case we needed the extra range. Moped rides often include a gas stop halfway through the ride...

 
 

The ride began and chaos ensued! The pack stormed into Daly City, looped back up around great highway, through Golden Gate Park and up to twin peaks. Then back to the bar in the Bay View. Total ride was just about 30 miles. Nate swapped the batteries at the top of Twin Peaks after a grueling climb. Though after confirming the final State of Charge of the batteries, the whole ride could have been done on just one pack. (22% and 86%)

 
 

On Saturday morning we got to soak up some sun in Alamo Square Park. We put as many test riders on the saddle as possible. The testers were allowed to ride on the path through the park with the approval of the local law enforcement (it's an electric bicycle, officer, have a nice day.) Of course, we took some glamor shots with the Painted Ladies in the background. Jokes were made about Bob Saget and Full House as necessary.

 
 

Gary and Sally ride the M-1.

 
 

Charging the M-1 using our Engineering Development bike to ensure a full charge before the ride.

 
 

Definitely do not miss doing this...

 
 

Swarming the streets of San Francisco.

 
 
 
 

After a 25 mile city ride through the hills of San Francisco, and plenty of battery life to keep going, we stopped at the SOMA StrEat Food Park and chowed down on some grub. Of course, there was an awesome Party that night at The Church of Surf. Live bands, Djs, Dancing, sitting on rooftops, cameo bar-tending; fun was had by all. (No, we did not ride to this party, we got a ride-share.)

 
 

What a blast, can't wait to do it again in two years.

Hello World

Bolt Motorbikes Founders, Nate Jauvtis and Zach Levenberg, here.  Let us be the first to welcome you to our blog. 

Riding a small motorbike is absolutely exhilarating, and we have set out to bring the joy of two wheels into the digital era.  In a technology 2.0 world, the fun of wrenching/tinkering now includes a software component.  Hackers/Wrenchers/Developers can create apps, design electronics, and utilize open-source software and hardware.  With a movement towards renewable energy, gas and oil have become things of the past, a motivation that drives our development.

Our work started with a simple question:  What would it take to build an electric moped?  In 2009, Nate began laying out the requirements for the next generation motorbike.  In a world dominated by automotive giants and petroleum megacorporations, we decided to make change.  The true catalyst for the M-1 was a group of unique, but like-minded individuals who formed the Creatures of the Loin San Francisco Moped Gang.  It was a motley crew with a passion for riding.  The idea was to ride a bike that was, in a sense, beyond the reach of the law.  “Wrenching” was part of the fun, but not everybody could keep their bikes running.  The M-1 is an ultra-low maintenance and totally green bike for everyone so people could spend more time riding and less time fixing.

This blog is intended to show what goes into making our bikes come together, how they are different from its gasoline-powered cousins, and what challenges are faced in switching to an all-electric platform.  We’ll keep you up-to-date with what we are doing and where we are going.

In the meantime, we would like to thank the following people for all their direct contributions to bringing this piece of technology to life:

Ace Levenberg, Elliot Ortiz, Pearl Tin, Ken Elkabany, Vishay Nihalani, Don Hutchinson, Kathryn Adkins, Gadi Amit, Chris Lien, Monica Semergiu, David Wajsfelner, Sarah Schaaf

Let’s Ride.

the mgmt

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